Andritz Hydro

Andritz projects stay on schedule - with Cumulus

With Cumulus searching takes, at most, half a second and the digital files are there.

Michael SchulyokCAD & Computer ScienceAndritz’s

Challenge

Every part of a turbine, as well as specs for operations and maintenance, must be documented and maintained for 80 years. But as Andritz Hydro began digitizing its 3+ million engineering drawings, it discovered the limitations of its computer system. Next it discovered the disturbing limitations of most digital asset management solutions. “Most systems could manage 10,000 to 20,000 files, but then things became difficult,” said Michael Schulyok, Andritz’s manager of CAD and computer science. Andritz needed the most powerful digital asset management solution available and after exhaustive due diligence, Cumulus was the only one left standing.

Solution

Cumulus was selected, in part, because of its überspeedy search architecture, which appealed to the engineering sensibilities at Andritz Hydro. But license-free access for an unlimited number of Web users sealed the deal. “Other systems charge a small fortune for such functionality,” said Schulyok. In addition, Schulyok was able to install Cumulus himself, saving the company money that would have gone into the pockets of other systems’ installation teams. Another bonus was Cumulus’ usability right out of the box. “The Cumulus manuals are excellent,” Schulyok said. “After three days, I had the solution under control completely.”

Results and Benefits

Today, all Andritz Hydro technicians, engineers, designers and workshop staff use Cumulus. Finding a document requires a mere mouse click, not an information request. “With Cumulus it takes, at most, half a second and the stuff is there,” said Schulyok. Manufacturing, maintenance and repair projects stay on schedule, because everyone knows where to find what they need – even when the documents they need are many decades old.

About Andritz Hydro

Andritz Hydro, the world’s leading supplier of hydro turbines has more than 30,000 turbine installations worldwide, some more than 50 years old, producing more than 400,000 MW of hydroelectricity. Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, the company has more than 50 offices in 20 countries.